Everything you need to know about running and life and any other random crap I find bouncing through my mind like a ping pong ball. And always be sure your shoes are happy.

Sweet.

The legs are less sore today, which is a happy surprise since they were kinda screaming at me yesterday, particularly on the stairs. Stairs are unavoidable in this 39 year old house which was built in 1973 after the owner’s non-stop binge on 96 episodes of the Brady Bunch. Red-eyed and numb he decided a tri-level house was the thing for him, with the main (middle) floor consisting of a kitchen with bright blue counters and plaid wallpaper, and a dining room with shimmering pale green wallpaper and a chandelier made of 3″x6″ squares of beveled glass hanging from bronze wires. Pretty damn awesome, but he forgot to include the bathroom. Accessing areas of relief require a trip up or down stairs and this is not negotiable. We did re-do the house (buh-bye, blue counter tops and disco fixture) but adding a bathroom on the main floor was not optional unless we wanted to stick it on the front of the house. Which would be rather a southern-type thing to do, but since we’ve already got the old washtub and the tractor with one wheel in the front yard and the couch and nonfunctional Coke machine on the porch we decided to pass. It seemed to me it would ruin the flow.

I did end up very successfully *oops* missing both the yoga and Pilates classes Monday (honestly, I was busy with work which provided the perfect excuse). This morning I will do three little slow miles – and by the way: It’s National Running Day! are you participating? – and then go see Killer who will undoubtedly have several new tortures awaiting me. Tiny little blond thing with such a pretty smile, it’s so disarming. Every time I think, I love Killer! Happy Day! I get to see her! and then I get there and realize once again I’ve deceived myself.

By the way, last year they busted a Bed & Breakfast Bondage house in a local bedroom community here – fine, upstanding community populated with many upper middle class citizens who were astounded such a thing could occur. If they could look into Killer’s garage they might not be so surprised.

Yesterday I did a bit of track work, which is a new thing for me and while it went OK I did worry that the high-pitched squeal of pain from my quads might set off the nearby donut shop’s alarm. The owner of the donut shop must go to bed every night Praizing Jayzus that he bought that frontage lot, which a year or so later saw a high school erected about 50 feet behind him and now a couple thousand or more hungry high schoolers and hundreds of exhausted teachers drive past his haven of caffeine and sugar every morning. When I drove out I thought longingly of his apple fritters which are reallllly good – and I’m an apple fritter connoisseur – but I kept moving, realizing that the calories left on the track would immediately reappear in my front seat if I stopped.

The best part of the day yesterday was getting the B’ster from daycare. He’s a blast. We stopped at the grocery. He sat in the cart pointing at all the fruit. APPLE! APPLE! APPLE! Sure, I think guavas and tomatoes look pretty much like apples, too. He had to hold the package of hamburger. Until we passed the Goldfish which were not on the grocery list but you can damn skippy bet that Moggie immediately put them on the list. Hamburger relegated to the back of the cart, he proudly held the Goldfish. Then he helped at the checkout, happily throwing everything he could reach onto the moving conveyor. The checker was a young man who handed B’ster one of the grocery sacks, “Here you go little Dude” and B smiled large.

At my house he found his two toy boxes and dislodged everything. He wore his fireman hat and I wore my racing car hat. We built a house of Duplo blox and he installed the Mommy-Daddy-B’str Duplo people on the roof. After that, apparently, there was a Natural Disaster and the house was destroyed. He found a book that has his mother’s name inscribed in the front and I read it to him twice while I remembered reading it to her a few decades ago. Next we went down to the dock where I sat and stuck my feet in the lake. Astounded, he smiled, sat down, pulled of his shoes and socks and dangled his feet in a lake for the first time. Traitor came over with more stuff to put in the attic. We made hamburgers & chicken burgers and ate on the deck. It was a sweet day.

Here’s a pic of B’ster and the story time, the Disco Dining Room and also the chicken burgers recipe which was really good.

Disco Dining Room

Copy cat recipe of Trader Joe’s Chili Lime Chicken Burgers.

Ingredients (serves 4)

1lb ground chicken

2 green onions, chopped

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 lime, cut in half

4 slices pepper jack cheese

4 buns, toasted

For the guacamole:

1 avocado

garlic powder

salt & pepper

Instructions

Combine chicken, green onions, bell pepper, cilantro, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes and juice of half a lime in a large bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined, then form into 4 patties and spray each side generously with non-stick spray.

Heat a large grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Grill burgers for 3-4 minutes a side, or until cooked all the way through. Place a slice of cheese on top of each burger, then cover with a large pot lid, and allow to melt for about a minute. Remove burgers to a plate, tent with foil, and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Place each burger on a toasted thin bun, then top with guacamole.

For the guacamole: Mash all ingredients together with a potato masher or fork.

What fine legs on the two of you! They sort of catch your eye in the pic–sorry! Thanks for the recipe. I am a sucker for anything with chili and lime, or often tequila and lime (another classic pairing). Enjoy your time with the little guy. This is my first summer with no college kids home, and I’m finding it painfully lonely. Can’t wait to get the pup for company…

LOL! thanks for the compliment – all I saw in the pic besides the little cutie pie was that crazy helmet perched on my head like a tumor. But it made B’ster happy so I kept it on. After a while I forgot it and then when I was making dinner I bent over and it fell off, surprised the stew out of me. Totally loving the time with him!! Yep, last year the Traitor lived with us for two months so this is the first lonely summer – but with Chunker around now, too, I really do stay busy and distracted. The pup is going to really add a lot of company for you. How much longer? And which one did you decide on!?

We’ll visit the pups again this week to get a little more info, because I really haven’t chosen. I think a dog’s personality really starts to come out when its eyes are open and it can walk 🙂 I’m trying to take a Dog Whisperer approach and pick a calm pup, which is easiest to handle in town. Any Labrador will run with me–even a quiet one! We’ll bring her home around July 4th.